Joe McDonagh Cup – Round 4
Antrim v Westmeath – Date: Saturday 16 May
Venue: Corrigan Park, Belfast
Throw in: 5pm
Referee: Kevin McDonnell (Dublin)
Brendan McTaggart looks ahead to Antrim’s McDonagh Cup game with Westmeath in Corrigan Park on Saturday.
Antrim’s slim hopes in the McDonagh Cup remain after last Sunday’s win over London. It will take a run of results to go our way and having studied the group table for what felt like an age, we will need to increase our score difference considerably. But, the hope remains alive.
Davy Fitzgerald’s men had to withstand a dramatic comeback of sorts from the Exiles in Ruislip as Antrim impressed at the start of the second half. Despite the concession of an early goal having led by three at the short whistle, the Saffrons surged into a 10 point lead after a strong third quarter but late goals from Sean Glynn, Jack Morrissey and Conor Byrne in the final 10 minutes had Antrim looking reaching for the full time whistle.
But, the performance was immaterial. The result was all that mattered last Sunday to all but extinguish any lingering possibilities of a further relegation and dropping into the Christy Ring Cup. Taking that into consideration, it was very much a case of ‘job done’. A four point win, a decent performance and two home games to keep the dream alive.
With the match being played in Corrigan Park, it sees the Saffrons returning ‘home’ and returning to the location of a comfortable victory over Westmeath in the 2025 season. We witnessed the Saffrons record a nine point win and a James McNaughton masterclass when these sides last faced each other in the National League. A campaign that would see the Midlander’s relegated but, having a look at the teams that have been named, Westmeath have named just five survivors from their starting 15 back in February 2025 while Antrim have six changes.
Last time out, The Lake County succumbed to a chastening defeat at home to Laois. The final score last Sunday in Mullingar 5-29 to 2-19. Having a look at match reports and Westmeath hit an eye catching 2-15 from open play and 10 different scorers gives you an idea of what Antrim face. A team who will have plenty of threats that will need looking after and a team that are in transition.
Fitzgerald has named an unchanged team from the side that saw off the challenge of London by four points last Sunday but have made a couple of positional changes. Ryan McCambridge is named at midfield, swapping with Keelan Molloy while James McNaughton lines out on the ’40 and Conal Cunning lining out on the inside forward line. I do hope this is how they line out, I think that ‘Coby’ is one of the best in the country playing on the edge of the square and playing James further out the pitch will give him the chance to use his electric pace and ability to evade tackles. Conal Bohill on the ’40 is an outlet for long puck outs also and a natural ball winner, something that we’ve been lacking during this season.
If all goes to plan, we could be facing a Carlow side who are already qualified for the final and still in with a chance of making that final ourselves. It’s a possibility that we could end up in a three horse race for that second spot with Laois and Down – the O’Moore County sitting on four points from three games and have games against Down (home) and London (away). Given that the maximum we can reach at this stage is six points, we would need to see a favour from one of those teams.
The hope of progress is slim and the McDonagh Cup flame is barely alive but it is still there. We go to Corrigan with that hope on our sleeves.
